Tai Chi is becoming ever more popular in the West but the Art itself has some catching up to do. The best books on the subject are written in Chineses and the number of recognized "Masters" that are from the West can be literally counted on one hand. The only Grand Masters are China and it is extremely rare for a Westerner to be invited to study with them. But if the Art is to be truly understood, if Westerners are to get the most from tai chi, this cultural gap must be bridged. Westerners, especially Americans, look at things like life, time and the Universe in sometimes ver different ways.

Bruce Frantzis is one of the few with that privilege however. After studying Tai Chi and other Eastern movement Arts for more than 40 years, Frantzis has become one of the foremost tai chi instructors in the world and has been invited to study in China. He began his studies in the 1960's with Cheng Man-Ching. Frantzies studied here until the master's death and then moved to Taiwan to study with Yang Shou-chung and then the Old Yang form with Lin Du-Ying and Bai Hua. Finally he lived aqnd studied in China studying the Chen style with Feng Zhi Qiang, both in his home and in parks on a one to one basis.

Using the lessons that he learned over decades, lessons from the Masters themselves, Bruce Frantzis has developed a tai chi course beginners and advanced students alike that is extremely effective. In many cases beginning students are discouraged from trying new forms alone because bad habits tend to develop and are hard to remove. This program however recognizes those particular problems and addresses them immediately and throughout the lessons.

Because your instructor is a master of all three of the main styles, Yang, Wu and Chen, the series will cover the basics of each. The course combines DVDs, audio and online resources and even live workshops to help student develop correctly. The Tai Chi Mastery Program allows students to progress to higher levels of tai chi much more quickly. The Tai Chi Short Form set is composed of more than 150 lessons in 30 discs. There are other sets of DVDs and audio lessons and a 400 page handbook for explanations, when combined with the online seminars this gives students from beginning to advanced levels many more options. The first installment w as almost immediately sold out but other installments will follow.